


Deck The Halls

by Herk



Category: The A-Team (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Complete, M/M, Old Work, Originally Posted Elsewhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 03:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21313549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herk/pseuds/Herk
Summary: Face wants to make Christmas extra special for his lover
Relationships: Templeton "Faceman" Peck/John "Hannibal" Smith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Deck The Halls

**Author's Note:**

> Re-posted from AGES ago because the place where it was collected doesn't exist anymore (at least I can't find it) and the new H/F group has limited space.

The last months had been very taxing for the team as a whole and especially their relationship. BA getting shot being the worst thing that had happened since they escaped Ford Bragg. And Maggie Sullivan of course.

Face sighed. He knew that it wasn't Hannibal's fault that the intelligent, charming doctor had been attracted to him. He knew that John – other than himself – wasn't even interested in women in that way. He knew that everything John had done during that time was as their colonel, ensuring as best as he could, that BA, that all of them, would be safe. And although he had done a lot more over the years, putting his lover through far worse, it had hurt like hell.

And a hurting Templeton Peck wasn't rational, wasn't forgiving but tried to hurt the people around him as much as he could.

If he was honest with himself, which he tried to avoid as best as he could, he wasn't sure why John put up with the psychological mess that was him. It was a testament of John's love and incredible patience that they were now slowly approaching a state that could be considered normal.

Face bit his lip. He didn't want normal, especially not “nearly normal with a lot of tension under the surface”. In a world where any or both of them could die the next day, he wanted nothing less than good with a tendency to brilliant or maybe even perfect.

And now it was December, a time of the year, when people wanted and expected more from life than usual. Since life wasn't about wishes and expectations and people couldn't get used to that fact, everyone became stressed out, short-tempered and generally ill-willed towards mankind, while at the same time they tried to fulfill the role that commercials and the media told them they had to play, getting more and more irritated throughout the whole cycle.

As much as Face hated this part of the holiday season combined with his share of lonely memories of growing up without a family which were a lot less easy to suppress in a time that was all about family, he knew that John loved Christmas. Nothing could rot out that warm feeling, that years sharing presents under a Christmas tree with loving parents and caring siblings had left: The stress, the commercialism, the fact that he couldn't see his family because he was on the run, the less than stellar job opportunities at this time, his still not forgotten quarrel with Face and the warm Californian sun, all had to step back behind memories of holly and mistletoe and singing Christmas carols while outside snow was falling.

So Face decided that this year he would do his best to give John the Christmas he deserved.

##  *****

During the next few weeks Hannibal often saw very little of his younger lover. Templeton Peck was a very busy man and even their usual late night conversations had come to a halt. Obviously Face didn't want to give him the chance to ask any questions.

*

On December the 10th Face presented Hannibal their new temporal home.

“Yeah I know, it's below my usual standards, but the owner's away until February and it's big enough for the two of us. Maybe I'll find something more fitting for Christmas, but if I can't I think we'll be okay.”

John looked around in the small apartment . A bedroom with one king sized bed, a living room, a kitchen a bathroom with a tub. Four rooms, not too big and certainly not the luxurious accommodations Tem usually preferred, but not too small either and – well – cozy.

“Don't worry, Tem,” Hannibal smiled. “It's perfect.”

*

On December the 14th Elizabeth Benton nee Smith was standing in her kitchen baking cookies, when the phone rang. Since she was at home alone, she quickly cleaned her hands of the flour and picked up the receiver.

“Lizzie? Please I know you don't know me but I hope you can spare a moment. I'm a friend of your brother's. I'm calling from a pay phone from a public space, but I'm still not sure how safe this is.”

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't heard of her favourite brother in a long time. It simply was too dangerous. Yet she was no fool and she didn't plan on giving away anything to a complete stranger over the phone.

“You might find this funny Mister...” she started in a threatening voice.

“Cassie Miller.” Face blurted out. “He told me about Cassie Miller's underwear.”

After the kid at the other end of the line got her attention that way, she readily answered all of his questions and got a few of hers answered in return. She didn't know exactly what was going on but despite the young man's claims that this was about their team, she was pretty sure, that there was a bit more going on between her brother and the kid. She hadn't lived under the same roof as John without learning at least a few things about him. In the end this phone call made her feel happier and more festive than she had in years and the only victims to be mourned were some burned cookies.

John was irritated when Templeton came back home late at night. He was offered a simple apology and no more explanation than:

“I had to get something done out of town. I didn't expect the traffic jam on the way back.”

The dressing down that followed and the lecture about “always letting someone of the team know where he went and when he was expected back or at least be reachable through his car phone” took some of Face's warm feeling away. But the warmed up roast out of the oven and the gentle good night kiss managed to put at least some of it right back.

*

On December the 20th Templeton had another drive to make. This time he told John, that he wanted to go down the coast to a small town post office and would probably be back sometime in the late afternoon. He didn't tell Hannibal that he went there to get a package out of a PO box he had rented just for that purpose. A package with homemade cookies and a letter from Elizabeth. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to pull a stunt like that again, but his lover was worth the risk. He couldn't wait to see Hannibal's face on Christmas morning.

When the doorbell rang at 3 P.M. Hannibal was surprised. The only person, who knew about their current home, was BA but he was pretty sure that the Sergeant wouldn't come over unannounced. It couldn't be Tem either since he not only had a key but wasn't due for another hour or two. Although it probably just were some neighbours, Hannibal Smith was extremely cautious, when he opened the door.

“Mr Milton?”

He nodded. John and Arthur Milton were the aliases he and Tem were using at the moment. And he stared at the Christmas tree – bound by a net for transport – leaning against the wall next to the young delivery man.

“I need your signature – here and here.”

John managed a polite smile as he wrote the name “Milton” in a barely identifiable scribble.

“Have fun and Merry Christmas Sir.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too.”

Only after he'd managed to maneuver the tree into their home, he realized, that he'd forgotten to give the man a tip.

When Tem came home the tree, freed of the transport net, stood in a corner of the living room and John welcomed him with a huge smile.

“You know it IS customary to go shopping for it together,” he teased.

Before Face could start to feel bad about this, Hannibal kissed him on the nose and dragged him into their bedroom.

*

On December the 21st John Milton and his nephew Arthur went on a shopping spree for Christmas decorations. They looked around, they argued and at the end of the day they arrived at their home with three huge bags filled with Christmas ornaments and hurting feet to lay testament of a day well spent.

*

On December the 22nd they had BA over for a few glasses of punch and an early Christmas dinner. Their friend was mightily impressed with the newly decorated tree and promised to come over again and bring Murdock around the day after Christmas. He told them of his plans to help out at a soup kitchen over the holidays and used this as a reason to decline Hannibal's invitation to come over on Christmas day. Despite his outward appearance of a huge insensible brute he knew quite well that his friends actually preferred it this way. They were a team, they were a family but there were times when a couple needed some quality time

*

On December the 23rd Hannibal spent the whole day doing some last minute shopping. As organized as he could be as a military leader (which granted wasn't THAT organized), when it came to Christmas shopping, he was more or less useless. He prayed that his talent for improvisation would save his neck again as it had done countless times before.

*

On Christmas Eve Templeton spent the day wrapping up presents, preparing an opulent meal, cleaning and decorating with that little extra effort. John wasn't much of a help even when he tried, which lead to some bickering. When Hannibal decided that he did more bad than good and pulled himself out of the holiday frenzy and ash from his cigar fell on the couch, Face exploded.

They shouted and screamed at each other until Templeton broke down in tears. John pulled him into an embrace immediately.

“Shhh, I'm sorry, Tem.”

“I just wanted everything to be perfect and now I've blown it. I can't even manage to get something simple like a quiet Christmas celebration right.”

At his young lover's words Hannibal let out a soft chuckle. “God, kid. You really don't have much experience with this, do you?” This IS perfect. No holiday season is complete without one major fight. My Mum and Dad fighting over his “laziness” and her perfectionism, my Mum and Lizzie over the amount of lipstick my sister put on, David and me over who had the right to put the angel on top of the tree, my Dad and me over my joining the army without talking it through with him first. It wouldn't be a real Christmas until someone was in tears over some nonsense and everybody stopped and took a deep breath and some hugs and kisses to make everything OK again.”

Face had to laugh at Hannibal's explanation. He already felt a bit silly because of his outburst, but at the same time John had managed to make him feel good about it.

“Hugs and kisses sound good.”

  
  


A few hours later after a quiet evening and a good meal both of them sat on the couch and watched the lights on the Christmas tree in companionable silence. Suddenly Hannibal interrupted their peaceful quiet moment.

“Come on Tem. Time to get ready.”

“Ready?”

“Put on your shoes and jacket – we're going out.”

With those words Hannibal wriggled out from under him and with a grin went over to the coat rack to get ready to leave himself.

“Where are we going?”

“You'll see.”

“Come on John. I need to know if I have to change, what clothes to put on.”

“You'll be fine, Tem.”

“You'd say that. But that doesn't mean that I'd feel the same way.”

But no matter how much Face grumbled, Hannibal didn't give in. After a twenty minutes walk through the night he finally answered Face's question with a:

“Look.”

When Templeton turned to look where John was pointing he saw that they'd reached St Anna's, a small catholic church. There was light shining through the windows and he could hear the first chords of “Ave Maria” being played by the church organ.

“We're just in time for midnight mass,” Hannibal explained.

Although Tem didn't say a word, John could see the excitement in the younger man's eyes before he simply turned and entered the church. He quickly followed to see Templeton finish the sign of the cross and turn to one of the rows in the back of the church.

The natural way in which his younger lover moved in the church, his kneeling down and bowing in the direction of the altar before he entered the row and the way his lips moved in sync to the traditional never changing parts of the mass – even the Latin words – showed Hannibal that he'd done the right thing.

Tem had done so much to make this Christmas perfect for him, but this was a partnership and as much as Christmas trees and cookies were an integral part of Christmas for him as much was the mass an integral part for his young lover. John was reminded that as much as Christmas was about family and home it was also about faith and about God loving men so much that he became one of them – a human being with all the strengths and weaknesses and despite all the flaws worth saving, it was about hope in the darkest night in the year.

Col. John “Hannibal” Smith felt the stress and tension of the last months and years just leaving him as he held the hand of Lt. Templeton “Face” Peck and joined in the chorus of voices:

“Glo_ohohohoho_ohohohoho_ohohoho_oria in excelsis deo.”


End file.
